Lebanon’s 'Capernaum' on Shortlist of Oscar Nominees for Best Foreign Film

Lebanese director and actress Nadine Labaki, her husband Lebanese producer Khaled Mouzanar and Syrian actor Zain Rafeea pose with the Jury Prize trophy at Cannes. (AFP)

Lebanese director Nadine Labaki’s “Capernaum” was shortlisted Monday for a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.

It joins eight other movies that will be vying to be nominated for Hollywood’s top honor.

Shortlists, decided on by executive committees in the film academy, help narrow the playing field in many of the categories before they are whittled down further to five final nominations in late January.

“Capernaum” was shortlisted along with Alfonso Cuaron's "Roma", Lee Chang-dong's thriller "Burning", Poland's "Cold War," Japan's "Shoplifters," Colombia's "Birds of Passage," Denmark's "The Guilty," Germany's "Never Look Away" and Kazakhstan's "Ayka."

Earlier this month, “Capernaum” was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes.

The critically acclaimed film, about a streetwise child who survives on the streets, has already won the prestigious Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

It stars 13-year-old Syrian refugee child turned actor Zain al-Rafeea.

The movie has garnered a string of wins and nominations on the festival circuit

Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards will be announced on January 22, a one month before the Oscars on February 24